1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of detecting filarial larvae in the blood of animals such as dogs, a blood analyzer, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Filariasis is a disease which is caused by the filarial parasites. Filariasis is particularly common in dogs, and is an infectious disease primarily caused via infection by mosquitoes. Filarial larvae reside in the bodies of infected animals. Microfilaria are one type of larvae present in the blood of infected animals. The microfilaria are transferred into the body of the mosquito when the mosquito ingests blood and while within the mosquito body become infectious larvae which are capable of transmitting the infection. When the mosquito ingests the blood of another animal, the infectious larvae is transferred to and infects the new host. The infectious larvae circulate through the blood stream to the heart of the host, where the parasite develops in the heart and pulmonary artery as it matures to adulthood.
Examinations for filariasis include a direct microscopic method wherein a blood sample is visually examined under a microscope (refer to U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,306), and a method using an immunological test kit to detect a specific antigen in the filarial infection sample (refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,484).
Examination for filariasis by direct microscopy as mention above, however, requires visual observation of microfilaria in a blood sample by a veterinarian, which is labor intensive and time consuming and quite burdensome on the investigator. The antibody in the reagent utilized in examinations using the immunological test kit increases the cost and generally makes the reagent quite expensive.
Accordingly, it is desired to rapidly and inexpensively detect filarial larvae in blood while reducing the burden on the operator.